Penn gets Moore offensively

BASEBALL

BASEBALL

May 01, 2008|MATT KOPSEA Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Coley Moore continued his push back toward the top Wednesday night. Batting in the No. 8 spot, Moore had three hits and two RBIs, helping No. 3 (Class 4-A) Penn rally for an 8-4 victory over rival Mishawaka in Northern Indiana Conference baseball action at Coveleski Stadium. In the opener, Clay took advantage of eight errors in posting an 8-6 win over Riley. Trailing 3-1, the Kingsmen (15-1, 10-0 NIC) sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and wound up scoring seven times with the aid of five hits, two walks, and an error. Moore's two-run single tied the score, while Ryan Kaczmarski plated two more with his hit off of Mishawaka starter Ben Versyp. "Since we moved Coley down in the order and out of the leadoff spot, he has really been hitting the ball well the last three or four games," said Penn coach Greg Dikos. "I know how much he wants to get back up there (leadoff), so he's really been making a push by hitting between .600 and .700 during this stretch. "I thought we showed good poise there when we were down 3-1, especially at the plate. We swung the bats well and showed good patience." After tallying a run in the top of the first on Ricky Berg's RBI single, the Cavemen (10-6, 6-4 NIC) bounced right back for three of their own off of Penn righty Nick Brady. Mike Blackford's single scoring Josh Rhoton tied the game, while Frank Sutphin's triple allowed Cameron Clark and Blackford to come home. Battling illness, Brady lasted just two innings, allowing three hits and walking three. Reliever Kody Grantham then proved to be just what the doctor ordered for Penn. The righty allowed one run on two hits with five strikeouts and five walks over five innings. "We knew Brady was suffering an illness and wasn't 100 percent tonight," Dikos said. "Although Kody probably walked too many, he still did a heck of a job of shutting them down when we needed someone to do it." PENN 8, MISHAWAKA 4At Coveleski Stadium Penn 100 700 0 -- 8 11 0 Mishawaka 301 010 0 -- 4 5 1 Nick Brady, Kody Grantham (3-W) and Jason Keough; Ben Versyp (L, 4-2), Ryan Lewis (4), Cameron Clark (5) and Evan Forslund. 3B: Frank Suphin (M).